Hookah lounge and carryout restaurant to open in downtown Ann Arbor this fall
Khaled Mohamed plans to combine food, hookah and entertainment when he opens his new venture in downtown Ann Arbor this fall.
Mohamed signed a lease in April for a 2,000-square-foot space at 210 S. Fourth Ave., just north of East Liberty Street.
The owner of Blue Lotus signed a lease for the space at 210 S. Fourth Ave. in April.
Lizzy Alfs | AnnArbor.com
He plans to open Blue Lotus, a hookah lounge, carryout restaurant, comedy showcase and karaoke spot, in two months. Hookah is a water pipe that commonly is used to smoke flavored tobacco.
“Nobody else is doing what I’m doing in Ann Arbor,” Mohamed said. “There is a big Middle Eastern community in Ann Arbor and this is something they like to do: relax, eat and smoke after work.”
The hookah business in Ann Arbor has dwindled since Michigan’s statewide indoor smoking ban took effect in May 2010. Multiple hookah bars across the state had to close down due to stricter requirements placed on hookah businesses.
Under the state’s law, a hookah lounge cannot serve food or liquor, it has to be an entirely new legal entity if it’s connected to a restaurant, and it also must have its own entrance.
The only hookah lounge remaining in the downtown Ann Arbor area is Smoka Hookah Lounge at 1108 South University Ave., located above Rendezvous Cafe.
Mohamed said the Blue Lotus space will be split into two separate businesses: one side will strictly be a carry-out restaurant and the other will be the lounge. Customers in the hookah lounge can order food to-go from the restaurant.
“When people like to smoke hookah they drive to Dearborn,” Mohamed said. “When I talk to some people who own businesses in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, they tell me, ‘We can’t wait for you to open.’ It’s something new and close for them.”
The restaurant will serve wood-fired pizza, sandwiches, subs, salads, fresh juices and “the best Shawarma in Michigan,” he said. The lounge also will host small comedy shows and have karaoke nights.
He said he’s importing everything from Egypt, including the furnishings and the hookah pipes.
Just around the corner from Blue Lotus, two smoke shops have opened in the past year on East Liberty Street. Bongz & Thongz, located at 119 E. Liberty St., and Wild Side Smoke Shop, located at 209 E. Liberty St., which both carry hookah products.
Lizzy Alfs is a business reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at 734-623-2584 or email her at lizzyalfs@annarbor.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lizzyalfs.
Comments
Shaun Marsh
Fri, Nov 30, 2012 : 11:58 a.m.
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Fri, Nov 30, 2012 : 11:57 a.m.
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hyp0static
Tue, Aug 28, 2012 : 6:28 p.m.
I'm just excited to see their pizza burn wood.
pawky
Tue, Aug 28, 2012 : 1:54 p.m.
@ Middle America, Please do not try to justify bad behavior by pointing to other bad behavior.
Middle America
Tue, Aug 28, 2012 : 6:58 a.m.
The ending of this article is simply attempting to get comments. The other "smoke shops" mentioned are totally different from the business this guy is opening.
Goofus
Tue, Aug 28, 2012 : 3:28 a.m.
It would be nice to see a new business open in that area that wasn't related...in some way...to smoking.
Michigan Man
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 11:30 p.m.
How will this contribute to the overall public health of the citizens of Ann Arbor? Quality of life in Ann Arbor seems to be on a continued downward trend.
Middle America
Tue, Aug 28, 2012 : 6:59 a.m.
Will citizens be forced to go to it? Will it influence people to start smoking?
WakeUpNow
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 10:47 p.m.
More hangouts for idle teenagers and young adults to waste their lungs away!!!!!No please. Jerusalem Garden is all I need!!!!
pawky
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 5:19 p.m.
Great. More lung cancer and smoke-related health problems. Who pays? We all do through higher premiums and higher taxes to pay for "free" health care. Swell.
Middle America
Tue, Aug 28, 2012 : 7:02 a.m.
Should we ban businesses like this, Michigan Man? Should the government stop them? You sound like a Socialist!
Middle America
Tue, Aug 28, 2012 : 7:01 a.m.
I am assuming you bemoan each opening of a fast food establishment in the city since they sell products which are unhealthy, right?
Michigan Man
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 11:32 p.m.
Obamacare is the ticket for the future lung, cancer and respiratory problems which will, given the mobility of U of M students, surface around the nation in the coming years. Crappy behavior does have consequences but the never ending magic of Obamacare will solve all health insurance and payment issues.
Dog Guy
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 5:12 p.m.
Let me know when Grace Lehman's Troupe Habibat al-Fen is booked; I'll be there with bells on.
Robert Granville
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 4:43 p.m.
Excellent. I love hookah and most of the shisha sold in the area is garbage.
Woman in Ypsilanti
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 3:48 p.m.
I don't have any interest in smoking but I like the idea of the best shawarma in Michigan being served downtown. They'll have to be pretty good to beat Jerusalem Garden though.
lindor
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 3:19 p.m.
"There is a big Middle Eastern community in Ann Arbor and this is something they like to do: relax, eat and smoke after work." That's some statement. The difference between this place and Rendezvous is that Rendezvous is right in the middle of campus and it attracts students. I can only imagine the "quality" people this will attract downtown. Reminds me a bit of Oz - started off as a hookah bar, added liquor, then came numerous problems.
Some Guy in 734
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 7:11 p.m.
My error--WEST, rather.
Some Guy in 734
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 6:40 p.m.
Students are increasingly being wooed to come east of State Street--the Sterling 411 developers are sort of counting on that, right?
SEC Fan
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 3:52 p.m.
who was it that said, "First, we hang 'em. Then, we'll give 'em a fair trial."...
Dutch Thomas
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 3:06 p.m.
if I can put some kif in there sign me up!
a2citizen
Tue, Aug 28, 2012 : 3:46 a.m.
"...mixing in a little kif is common..." I have never, ever seen anyone do that in the 50+ countries I have visited. Nobody hides pot in tobacco. We didn't even do that in high school. Tobacco does not mask the aroma of marijuana at all. Why not hide out back a smoke a bong so you can get the full effect? Then go inside and enjoy a hookah. What culture are you speaking of?
Basic Bob
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 3:48 p.m.
I'm going to stick to cigars. They don't remind me of bong hits.
Dutch Thomas
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 3:07 p.m.
and in many cultures mixing in a little kif is common and hard to smell due to all the tobacco.
PersonX
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 1:23 p.m.
What a sad waste of money. I have no doubt that the owner believes this is a novel idea, but it completely misjudges the town and the location. Who needs more of any of these foods downtown? There are more pizza and hamburger places than people and sub shop across the street. Sad to say, this will not last long.
Some Guy in 734
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 6:33 p.m.
Argileh is a "novel idea"? It's been around 600 years or so.
Robert Granville
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 4:44 p.m.
You speak for everyone?
G-Man
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 12:39 p.m.
I'm not sure i understand....... I can't smoke my cigar in a restaurant, but a pipe is ok?
Angry Moderate
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 3:26 p.m.
You are welcome to smoke your cigar in a cigar bar. Everyone else can smoke their hookah in a hookah bar. Nobody can smoke anything in a restaurant--unless it's in a casino.
Bear
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 1:21 p.m.
no apparently you do not understand. Did you notice the part of the article where it said "split into two separate businesses"?
smokeblwr
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 12:31 p.m.
There goes the neighborhood....
xmo
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 12:21 p.m.
Thank goodness! Now if we had a few more cigars bars and repealed the smoking law we would be all set! "The hookah business in Ann Arbor has dwindled since Michigan's statewide indoor smoking ban took effect in May 2010"
rusty shackelford
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 11:36 a.m.
A lot of people don't realize how bad for your health hookah smoking really is--it's terrible. http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/tobacco_industry/hookahs/
Middle America
Tue, Aug 28, 2012 : 7:26 a.m.
You had no idea that smoking something was bad for you, a2citizen? Really? Well, have a seat real quick before you continue reading this comment. Inhaling smoke is bad for you no matter what type of smoke it is. Sorry if I blew your mind. I hope you didn't pass out from reading this astonishing information.
Middle America
Tue, Aug 28, 2012 : 7:05 a.m.
These people you claim don't realize it is bad for you are complete idiots.
a2citizen
Tue, Aug 28, 2012 : 3:48 a.m.
I had no idea.
Lovaduck
Tue, Aug 28, 2012 : 1:55 a.m.
Rusty, Your point is well taken. I knew an eminent Professor at one of our local universities (no dumbell, he) who used a hookah (people thought he was smoking pot which he did NOT!) before the facts about hookah smoking were well known. His health suffered so much he had to stop. I too don't understand why everyone is so hostile, but such sites often have many "libertarian" type people who perceive any warnings as interference in privacy---just a suggestion as to why.
mhirzel
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 10:21 p.m.
A lot of people don't realize how bad for your health the CDC really is--it's terrible.
rusty shackelford
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 9:55 p.m.
What I was trying to convey is that many (including at one time myself) are surprised to learn the EXTENT of the damage done to one's health (i.e. not THAT it is unhealthy, but HOW unhealthy it is). E.g., an hour smoking session puts as much tobacco smoke in you as over 100 cigarettes, and that hookah smoke is if anything more carcinogenic than cigarette smoke. Not sure how this warranted such hostile responses.
Madeleine Borthwick
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 9:50 p.m.
then. don't. smoke. it.
Enso
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 8:12 p.m.
Worrying about everything is bad for your health too.
Robert Granville
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 4:48 p.m.
I've never met a hookah smoker who was unaware of the risks of tobacco. I don't believe your statement that "a lot of people" don't realize the health risks. It's 2012 and it is tobacco after all. If you don't know the health risks of smoking tobacco in the United States of America, it's quite possible that you also aren't mentally capable of taking care of yourself..
Unusual Suspect
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 11:34 a.m.
Reminds me of the good old days of S Fourth ave.
M
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 11:15 a.m.
Awesome! Rendezvous needs some competition, and it's a great location! Can't wait!
GoNavy
Mon, Aug 27, 2012 : 11:05 a.m.
Well, good luck to this guy. Always interested in seeing what people bring to the mix.